The Traveler

𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦? 𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 . . . 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰.

What looked like an information dump was really an expansion in memory capacity.

Suddenly everything lit up. Mark felt a stinging sensitivity in his eyes, but he managed to attenuate the intensity of the light that entered his eyes just by thinking about it. He normally does it without problem, but this time it seemed a bit complicated.

𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰?

There was something in the video, something familiar, even though the face and voice were distorted. Mark decided to re-watch the old video at the risk of having that strange feeling again.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴!

That man speaking in the video was wearing the same heart-shaped charm that Kathy made for him.

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘴 - 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 414 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰.

“Hi Kathy,” Mark says, connecting to her through the chip in his brain.

“The design of the heart-shaped locket you made for me, where did you get it from?”

“Hi Mark. It’s an original design.”

“I wanted to make something special for you for our anniversary, so I searched online to see if there was anything like it in the world. I couldn’t even find anything remotely like it in archeology databases. Why do you ask, love? Did you see something like it?”

At this time, there was no need to lie. But for some strange reason, Mark knew he shouldn’t tell the truth.

“No hon, it's just curiosity. Talk to you later, bye.”

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.

Mark grabbed his jacket and what was left of his coffee. As he left the cafeteria, he began to feel that he understood everything much more than before.

It’s the year 2432 and the world seems to have reached “perfection,” but at what cost?

Since 2033, a powerful artificial intelligence has managed to convince humanity that the only way to save us from extinction was for us to let it guide us. It gave us the guidelines to follow in order to preserve our species. The solution, according to this superior intelligence we created ourselves, was to implant a chip in our brains.

This chip would be very similar to the technology already widely accepted and used for hearing problems, but would allow us to connect and achieve empathy with each other. It would create a collective consciousness, with access to all of the information on the world’s computer servers - without degrees, without levels, and without limits.

Or so it was believed.

The human race almost became extinct after the last great war of 2031, a war unleashed by a country in North Asia and then joined by other countries in rapid succession. What happened in 2019 was just a test. Planet Earth had become a large cage, and humans became guinea pigs.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦?

Indeed, Mark decided to do a test and began to find new files in places where there were only a few before. The place he looked was in one that had been exciting and mysterious for a long time, one that was related to the video he saw when he first had this strange sensation.

𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭.

Before, there were only a few million files available overall, but now the information at his fingertips was almost incalculable. All this as a result of that strange video of the man with a distorted voice and face saying he was a time traveler who had reached the year 2018.

29 year-old Mark Dickenson knew of nothing but a near-perfect world. He was a creator of science fiction stories in a time where no one wrote with pen and paper, but where the arts were as important as science. “The Great Consciousness,” as the supreme artificial intelligence directing the world was known, had long since realized the importance of the arts for the existence and survival of the human race - alongside science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This powerful “AI” managed to understand the importance of things that would seem impossible for a logic machine and has effectively became a protective mother of humanity. Or perhaps, a scientist running tests and trials.

But whether an overly protective mother or a cruel scientist, limiting freedom of thought and free will was perceived as necessary for a humanity that almost ended itself through their poor decision-making, their selfishness and stupid need for the supremacy of some groups over others.

And free will was practically non-existent. It was obsolete.

As Mark stepped in his electric vehicle, he noticed that people started to look at him. It was not usual.

“Please stop, we need to talk. You’re putting the human race at risk.”

Mark heard this soft and feminine voice of "The Great Consciousness" in his mind - a mix between the maternal and sensual. He ignored her and realized that he could block her hold on him. Pressing down on the accelerator, he broke through the others trying unsuccessfully to block him with their own vehicle.

A chase began, and in pursuit Mark began to understand how his access to everything allowed him to break the limits imposed on all electric vehicles by this . . . artificial intelligence.

“Sorry, I need to understand all this information,” Mark responded, then disconnected.

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

When disconnected, “The Great Consciousness” could not access his thoughts or his location, yet he still had access to everything. After several hours of driving, Mark arrived somewhere far from any city and town. He began to analyze and process all of the information he could access in mere seconds to the point he understood, beginning with time travel.

𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦!

It was so simple that nobody imagined what the formula was. No machines were needed, no space-time vortices . . . only quantum projection.

Mark closed his eyes and showed up in 2018. His mind couldn't believe what just happened. Everything around him was the same, but different at the same time. He was still connected, but he did not feel the presence of “The Great Consciousness.” As he accessed the network, he realized that he was indeed in the year that he thought he wanted to be - on October 11th, to be precise.

His vehicle was missing.

Mark began walking towards the highway. He tracked all the mobile devices, analyzes the users, and found a couple approaching, coming to a stop.

“Want a ride?” The driver asks kindly.

Understanding that he is far from everything and sensing they are reliable, he responded with a “thanks” as he opened the back door and stepped into the car.

“Where are you going?” Asks the driver, a man of about 40 years with a robust but pleasant face. Next to him sat a slim woman who seemed disagreeable with having given a ride to a stranger.

“Please drop me off in the next city.”

Even with all the knowledge in the world, and in some others, Mark had no idea where to go or what to do at that very moment.

“It looks like it’s going to rain,” the driver said, trying to make conversation after a short while of uncomfortable silence.

“Nice to meet you, my name is James,” he continued. For some strange reason, he felt comfortable with Mark’s presence.

“Mark, nice to meet you,” he responded cordially as he searched for information about what’s happening this year.

“You’re not from here, right? I can’t identify your accent.” James said without taking his eyes off the road.

“You're right, I’m from a far away place.”

Seeing how the world is going up to that moment and knowing what was coming shortly, Mark now understood the few probabilities of so many, including the human race.

“The Great Consciousness” exists. It already existed at this time, but it had not wanted to intervene of course. It just waited for humanity to realize the low probability of its survival.

Mark accessed a reservation page online, created an identity with ease, a personal profile with false bank account, and made a reservation for a hotel room.

“Can you drop me off here please?”

The car stopped and Mark cordially said goodbye as he walked towards his hotel. He needed to stretch his legs.

On the way he stopped at a café to ordered a latte with an extra shot of espresso and skim milk. He drank it and went on his way. In the hotel, after investigating and seeing a wide range of possibilities from his actions, he realized what he should do. But first, he needed to rest. In spite of everything, he is not a machine - not quite. His organic body needed to recharge, his body needed to rest.

Lying down, just before falling asleep, he thought of Kathy, his life partner. He missed her but could not get in touch with her although he knew how to do it. After all, there was a video machine mounted on a platform.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴” 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴.

He knew that even with the knowledge he had of time travel, “The Great Consciousness” cannot come. The organic body is fundamental to make space-time displacement.

“Good morning my love,” Kathy says to him.

But it was only a waking dream. Mark went to the bathroom, took a shower, and readied himself for the day. He wanted to see with his own eyes what the past is like, and he needed to buy a cellphone to do what he knew he needed to do.

That’s why he traveled to the past. The people of the future need to wake up, live their own lives and make their own decisions - even if this leads to extinction - it’s the natural course of things.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴” 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥 “𝘑𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬.”

Dinosaurs already lived their time, and Mark had to disappear at his appointed time. Humanity needs to move to its next spiritual level of existence after the physical plane to transcend. As long as that does not happen, our souls will continue to be tied to this physical plane.

Mark bought the cellphone he needed to record himself. He distorted his face and voice to be undetectable by “The Great Consciousness” and sent it.

But not before giving another kiss to his heart-shaped locket.